


This Woman's Work

by RoseByAnyOtherName17



Series: The Lion, the Wolf and the Dragon [15]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Loyalty, Strategy & Tactics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-14 16:24:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14773079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseByAnyOtherName17/pseuds/RoseByAnyOtherName17
Summary: "Will he reveal your identity?" Daenerys questioned."Absolutely not," Gendry said at once.





	This Woman's Work

**Author's Note:**

> So I have no excuse for how long it's been, other than classes taking up an awful lot of time. Now that summer is here, I hope to be able to update much more frequently. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy this installment!

Two dragons met them on the beach, both shrieking greeting to Arya when she stepped out of the boat. _Viserion went with Jon._ It was what she had expected, but it was still somewhat surprising to see two where there had been three before.

 

Gendry was completely speechless at the sight of them, climbing out of the boat with a hesitance that she hadn’t seen in him before. Drogon growled low enough that the ground vibrated beneath their feet, and the man stopped dead. “Come here,” Arya said quietly, taking his hand in her own. She gently brought him closer Rhaegal until they stood side by side in front of the smaller dragon. Rhaegal accepted her outstretched hand readily, pushing his snout into her palm, and when she raised the hand clasped in Gendry’s, he huffed a breath over them and allowed Gendry to lay a hand on his scaled jaw. Drogon still rumbled threateningly a few feet away, but it wasn’t directed at Gendry anymore; it was towards Nymeria.

 

The direwolf had padded up behind them lightly enough that Arya hadn’t heard, right up to the black dragon. Her lip was pulled up in a silent snarl. “Nymeria,” Arya said, but she was paid no attention, not by her wolf nor the dragon she was challenging. If Drogon decided to kill her, the wolf would stand no chance. He was enormous, his head almost as big as Nymeria’s body.

 

“Drogon!”

 

In an instant, the dragons took to the sky. Gendry stumbled back with the force of the air they displaced, hand leaving Arya’s. Nymeria growled once, then Arya said her name again, and she returned to the girl’s side. Daenerys and Tyrion strode across the beach toward them. “Thank you, Your Grace,” Arya said when they neared.

 

Daenerys was staring at Nymeria with a raised brow. “I almost didn’t believe that you had found your direwolf.”

 

“She found me,” Arya answered, “and she stayed. Her wolf pack is still in the Riverlands.”

 

“And your companion?”

 

Gendry got down to his knee, head bent. “My name is Gendry, Your Grace.”

 

There was a heavy pause before Tyrion spoke. “You’re the boy that she lost.”

 

“And how is it that you found each other?” Daenerys asked.

 

Gendry rose again when she nodded at him. “It didn’t take long for word to travel that she had taken Riverrun with a Wildling army,” he said. “It was just unbelievable enough that I knew it had to be true.”

 

“Did you travel here alone?” Daenerys’ expression was unreadable in a way that Arya had learned to be uncomfortable with, but Tyrion’s was outright worried.

 

“A man and a woman travelling alone draws less attention than a girl with four or five men surrounding her,” Arya answered. “It is easier to hide as well.” It wasn’t enough; neither one relaxed, and beside her Nymeria stood tense. Gendry had dropped back slightly, just enough that Arya stood with one shoulder in front of him, and she briefly felt amused at that. “I understand what it looks like,” she continued quietly, ignoring Tyrion’s snort, “but I trust Gendry with my life, more than perhaps anyone else. Arya Stark may have taken Riverrun and declared for Daenerys Targaryen, but when I’m travelling, it is best to be as invisible as I can. If it came up, Gendry could be my husband. It’s best for none of Westeros to know one highborn girl’s movements. If I was captured by the Lannisters, or anyone else…”

 

“Your loss would be of great consequence at this stage in the war,” Tyrion finished. He sighed. “Did anyone recognize you on your travels?”

 

“One person,” Arya admitted. “He is the other boy I told you about, Hot Pie, the one who stayed at the inn at the crossroads.”

 

“Will he keep your identity a secret?” Daenerys inquired.

 

“Without question,” Gendry said, surprising Arya. “He didn’t even ask where we were going.” After a pause, he quickly added, “Your Grace.”

 

Daenerys inclined her head at him, corner of her mouth twitching. “Very well,” she said. “Come and eat, the both of you, and then rest for the night.”

 

Gendry’s awe regarding the stronghold was obvious; even crumbling in places and ancient, it was magnificent, massive, much bigger than Riverrun. His fingers twitched at his sides, and Arya wondered how long it would take him to break and ask after the forge. She smothered a smile and instead asked Tyrion how things were coming with Rhaegal. In response, he pulled out a rough sketch of a saddle. “We’ve attempted to fly without one,” Tyrion told her, “but my legs are too short to get a proper grip and…”

 

“Lord Tyrion plunged straight into the sea,” little Missandei finished, unable to hide her mirth. Daenerys chided her gently, but Tyrion was grinning ruefully as well. Arya liked that he spoke of his failed flight with Rhaegal as something they had undertaken together.

 

Gendry held out until after they had eaten. “Could I see the forge, Your Grace?” His excitement was palpable, and though Daenerys was obviously surprised, she instructed Grey Worm to show him to it. Arya followed, though she had seen it before, to gauge his reaction to it. It did not disappoint. The smile that spread over his face made her cheeks feel warm, especially when he turned it onto her. “This is _wonderful_ ,” he said.

 

She stayed in the forge with him that night, despite the room that Daenerys had made up for her. Gendry made her take the bunk in the corner, but allowed her to make a pallet on the ground with the abundance of blankets she convinced Missandei to bring them. She lay on her side facing him, listening to him talk about the dragons and Daenerys and the forge, smiling sleepily. The warmth of the fire and his voice slowly lulled her to sleep, but she didn’t miss him say, “So I’m the boy you lost?”

 

“Shut up,” she mumbled, too comfortable to care, and drifted off to his gentle laughter in her ear.

 

**

 

The timing of the Freys’ mysterious demise had not escaped Tyrion’s attention.

 

“Your next task was to dispose of Walder Frey, using your skills you learned with the Faceless Men,” he told her between sparring sessions with Gendry, “but it seems that someone has already destroyed him and his family.” When Arya didn’t immediately respond, he continued. “The servants and wives have spoken of a girl. Walder Frey’s wife herself said that she woke up next to her husband, and watched him change into this girl by some magic.”

 

“Strange, that,” Arya said lightly. She watched Gendry train with Barristan Selmy. Once more, she was amazed at the fluidity of the old man’s movements.

 

Tyrion sighed. “In the future, I must advise you against undertaking any personal missions without alerting Her Grace,” he warned. “Cersei has lost one of her greatest allies, but the castle lays empty now. Who will take it?”

 

“Does she know?” Arya asked, of Daenerys.

 

“She suspects,” Tyrion admitted, “but she is pleased with the victory, regardless of its happenings. Like you, it seems, she has not yet considered the matter of an empty stronghold – a very important one at that.”

 

Arya lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said honestly. “My only thought was eliminating them, not of what would happen after.”

 

“Mistakes will be made in war. But how did you leave Riverrun undetected for so long?”

 

“Gendry told them we were looking for the Brotherhood Without Banners,” Arya said. “Actually, we found them; they’re headed North to fight alongside my brother.”

 

Between them, Nymeria suddenly stood, looking up to the sky and growling softly. A moment later, Rhaegal landed a few feet away with a thump that shook the sand and disrupted Gendry. Barristan had him back-to-chest a moment later, broadsword across his neck. The dragon shrieked at the two before shuffling over to Tyrion and knocking his huge (compared to the dwarf) head against his shoulder. Tyrion absently reached up a hand to stroke over Rhaegal’s cheek. Nymeria kept growling, until Arya said, “Quiet, girl.” The direwolf grunted unhappily, but settled.

 

“The question now is where to send you next,” Tyrion went on, as if they hadn’t been interrupted. “I expect you will take Gendry with you?”

 

“Yes,” Arya said immediately.

 

“You two are very close,” Tyrion observed. He glanced sideways at her, eyebrows raised slightly. So he hadn’t missed her unslept-in room then.

 

“He’s as much my family as Jon Snow or Sansa.”

 

“Is that the way of it?”

 

Arya ignored the implication. “Where I go, he goes as well, unless he decides otherwise.”

 

Tyrion said no more of it.

 

**

 

The decision regarding Arya’s next task was halted by the news that Asha and Theon’s uncle was close to completely rebuilding the fleet they had stolen to take to Daenerys.

 

“He will declare for Cersei,” Daenerys mused.

 

“His loyalty comes with marriage,” Asha reminded her.

 

“She would be a fool to decline.”

 

“If I could get to the Iron Islands before they set sail—” Arya began.

 

“Euron already has,” Theon said flatly. “The rest of the fleet will follow the moment it is complete. Even if you were to make it before they left, what would you do?”

 

“The Tyrells have been besieged for far too long.” Daenerys was looking down at the stone map. “Your brother has returned to Winterfell. The Vale’s forces are still there. Could they be sent to fight the Lannisters and end the siege?”

 

Once again, Tyrion reminded her of Littlefinger’s unpredictability. “There is no guarantee he will not turn on us for his own personal gain.”

 

Arya was hardly listening anymore, staring down at the map but not seeing. There had to be something they were missing, something important. Between the Dornish and Dothraki, Casterly Rock was secure. With most of Cersei’s forces concentrated on Highgarden, King’s Landing itself was vulnerable – but not for long, with Euron Greyjoy approaching. The Stormlands still had no ruler, but the high lords there were not contributing to the war in any significant way. She looked absently at Casterly Rock again. Supplies were already being moved from the stronghold to Riverrun, alongside Edmure Tully’s wife and son; once the castle was empty, what was the need for it?

 

_So that the Lannisters can’t threaten the Riverlands from that side again,_ she thought. But did Cersei have the men to take it back? Unless she had allies that they were unaware of as of yet, then no. But that would change with Euron Greyjoy. Undoubtedly one of her first orders would be to take back her family’s home. But it would take weeks for them to travel back around…

 

Casterly Rock wasn’t the answer, in any case. Arianne Martell had left enough of her army behind in Dorne that it would not be threatened, so concern did not lie there. It seemed to her that there were three variables that could make a difference: the Vale’s fickle loyalty, the Stormlands’ lack of a leader, and the abandoned Twins – thanks to her. If any one of these things was taken care of, then the other two would be easier to manage. This begged the question, what was the highest priority?

 

“Once Cersei has Euron Greyjoy’s Ironborn, she can do two things,” Arya finally spoke up, and silence fell. “She takes back Casterly Rock, or she takes Storm’s End. By the time the fleet gets to the Rock, it will be nearly empty, just enough supplies to keep the Dornish and Dothraki going. But Storm’s End is empty, and if she can secure it, she’ll have one more supporting border, and more men to fight for her. And they will, if they are threatened by Ironborn.” She glanced at Asha. “Your kind are legendary; when I was in King’s Landing, some of the smallfolk’s favorite stories were of you. How terrifying the Ironborn are, what they do to their prisoners…if the Stormland lords think for a moment that they could be facing a threat like that, then they will declare for Cersei, no question.”

 

“What are you suggesting?” Daenerys prompted.

 

“We need to take the Stormlands before Cersei can,” Arya said. “Those left, the ones who didn’t die with Stannis or Renly, aren’t fighting, because they still believe in the Baratheon family, extinct or not. But they won’t stay that way if their families are at risk.”

 

“Are you saying we need to threaten them before Cersei can?” Tyrion looked unconvinced.

 

“The opposite.” Arya took a deep breath. “We need to win them over, and I think I might have a way to do it.”


End file.
